Jewish community of Westerburg

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Former synagogue Westerburg

The Jewish community in Westerburg in the Westerwaldkreis ( Rhineland-Palatinate ) was a Jewish community whose roots go back to the Middle Ages . The Jewish community went out in 1940 as part of the German deportation Jews in the Nazi era .

history

Jewish people lived in Westerburg as early as the first half of the 14th century. In 1328 Symon von Westerburg was named as a Jewish citizen in Frankfurt. In 1340 Sannel (Samuel) and Gutheil von Westerburg had loan transactions entered in the Frankfurt court books.

At the end of 1655, Count Georg Wilhelm issued a letter of protection for Abraham Jews sambt seyn Wibundt children . The emergence of the modern community goes back to the 17th century. In 1760 there were already 60 Jewish residents in the city. Some of these families are said to come from Austria (Neuhaus family), from where they were expelled at the time of Empress Maria Theresa. At the time of the coalition wars , some families were so impoverished that they asked for a discount or waiver of protection money. In the 19th century, the Duchy of Berg promoted the emancipation of Jews , which finally prevailed during the time of the Duchy of Nassau . In 1841 the Jewish citizens had to adopt hereditary family names (Katz / Kahn, Feist / Frank). Four families called themselves Ullmann and others Fuld, Goldschmidt or Neuhaus.

In the 19th century, the number of Jewish residents developed as follows: In 1807 there were 95 (in 16 families) in the municipality of Westerburg, 1808 77, 1825 100, 1843 112, 1871 135 (about 9% of the total population), 1895 86, 1905 and in 1909 91 each. The Jewish people living in the neighboring village of Willmenrod also belonged to the Westerburg community (21 in 1843, 18 in 1905). In the period that followed, the Jewish people living temporarily in Neunkirchen, Pottum , Weltersburg and after the dissolution of the community in Rennerod also belonged to the community in Westerburg. The Jewish community of Gemünden , which had now been dissolved , also belonged to the Westerburg community from 1856.

Up until the first half of the 19th century, most families made a living from cattle trading, trading in yard goods, or were brokers. At that time they lived in poor conditions throughout. Since the middle of the 19th century, the economic situation improved: Several shops and businesses could be opened on site, which were important for the economic development of the city. The Fuld brothers operated a cigar factory for a time. The Neuhaus family ran a saddlery business for over 100 years since 1832 . Two doctors came from the Ullmann family: Dr. Adolf Ullmann (* 1850, later a doctor in Frankfurt), and Dr. Siegfried Ullmann (later a doctor in Berlin). A Jewish representative (most recently Leopold Neuhaus) sat on the city council for several decades. The rise in society was, however, accompanied by tension, because it aroused the envy of local craftsmen and traders.

The Jewish community had a synagogue , which was inaugurated in 1910 with the participation of the city, a religious school (with a total of 24 school-age children around 1847/48, one each from Willmenrod, Weltersburg, Rennerod and Gemünden), a ritual bath and one Cemetery . A religion teacher was employed to take care of religious tasks for the community, who was also active as prayer leader and schochet . The community belonged to the district rabbinate Weilburg (or after the merger of the rabbinates Bad Ems and Weilburg: Rabbinate Bad Ems and Weilburg).

During the First World War , the following fell from the Jewish community: Jacob Fuld (1871–1917), Friedrich Ullmann (1884–1916), Gustav Ullmann (1888–1918) and Isidor Ullmann (1890–1914).

Around 1924 the Jewish community in Westerburg still had 92 members. At Jewish associations there was primarily a men's chewra (charity and funeral association) and the Israelite women's association. The Jewish inhabitants living in Gemünden and Willmenrod now also belonged to the Jewish community (in 1924 4 and 6 people respectively, in 1932 only the 4 people living in Willmenrod are named). In 1932 the community leaders were Joseph Fuld (1st chairman), Simon Ullmann and Leopold Neuhaus.

National Socialist Persecution

After 1933 some of the Jewish community members (1933: over 100 people, plus 4 in Willmenrod) moved away or emigrated due to the increasing disenfranchisement and reprisals . In 1936 there were 90 Jewish residents, in 1940 there were 24. In 1941 and 1942 the last Jewish residents were deported from the city . Only a few families managed to emigrate to the United States, such as the Ullmann, Neuhaus and Kahn families, or to the Philippines, such as the Fuld family.

synagogue

A synagogue or a prayer room in one of the Jewish houses had certainly existed since the 18th century. At the beginning of the 19th century, the headmaster Raphael Mordge made a room available to the community free of charge in his house. Services could be held in this prayer room in Oberflecken until 1819. Then the house with the prayer room was destroyed in a fire that destroyed 160 buildings in Westerburg. A new synagogue, which was also built in Oberflecken (corner of Wilhelmstrasse / Schaumgasse), was inaugurated in 1824 at the latest. There were 53 places for men and 34 for women. The synagogue was built with the help of a collection that was mainly carried out in Frankfurt am Main. The then 6 Jewish families in the city could not have financed such a building. In 1844 the synagogue was renovated.

At the beginning of the 20th century the synagogue was in a state of disrepair. The municipality then decided to build a new building on the same spot. In the summer of 1910 the new synagogue was opened by district rabbi Dr. Landau from Weilburg inaugurated. The Israeliist newspaper reported that the entire Christian population - including the dignitaries - participated in the festival of the Jewish community. Associations with their flags were also at the pageant, and the district administrator gave a speech. The official inauguration was carried out by District Rabbi Dr. Landau from Weilburg.

The new synagogue was the focus of Jewish life in Westerburg for only 28 years . During the November pogrom in 1938 , the windows and interior fittings of the building were completely destroyed. At the beginning of 1939 the Jewish community had to repair the building at its own expense, only to be forced on March 25, 1939 to sell the building to the city for 175 RM. After 1945 the building went into private ownership and was converted into a residential building. To this day, various arches and round windows are a reminder of the building's past.

Web links

See also

→ List of former synagogues in the Westerwald

Sources / individual references

  • Uli Jungbluth : To the synagogue and the Jews of Mogendorf . In: Joachim Jölsch / Uli Jungbluth (ed.): Jews in the Westerwald. Life, suffering and remembrance . Montabaur 1998
  1. ^ Karl Greiff: (section) Westerburg . In: Jüsch / Jungbluth: Jews in the Westerwald , p. 228 f.
  2. ^ Karl Greiff: (section) Westerburg . In: Jüsch / Jungbluth: Juden im Westerwald , p. 229 f.
  3. ↑ Jungbluth, section Gemünden, p. 161.
  4. ^ Karl Greiff: (section) Westerburg . In: Jüsch / Jungbluth: Juden im Westerwald , p. 229 f.
  1. ^ Judaica-alemannia - history of the Jewish community Westerburg.
  2. ^ Judaica-alemannia - history of the Jewish community Westerburg.
  3. ^ Judaica-alemannia - history of the Jewish community Westerburg.
  4. ^ Judaica-alemannia - history of the Jewish community Westerburg.
  5. ^ Judaica-alemannia - history of the Jewish community Westerburg.
  6. ^ Judaica-alemannia - history of the Jewish community Westerburg.
  7. ^ Judaica-alemannia - history of the Jewish community Westerburg.
  8. ^ Judaica-alemannia - history of the Jewish community Westerburg.
  9. ^ Judaica-alemannia - history of the Jewish community Westerburg.